Body scrubs

Body scrubs are a great way to keep your skin healthy and beautiful through exfoliation. You can buy a body scrub for anywhere from $5-$50 to give yourself a body scrub at home, make your own body scrub, or get a body scrub treatment at a spa.

No matter which way you go, most body scrubs have these three ingredients:

• An exfoliant. This is the abrasive material like salt, sugar, rice bran, jojoba beads, apricot kernels, coffee grounds, etc. that rubs away the dead skin cells on the surface, revealing the softer, younger cells just below.


• Oil. This holds the mixture together so you (or someone else) can apply it to your skin. More expensive body scrubs like Origins Salt Rub (Compare Prices) usually have more expensive oils like macadamia oil, kukui nut oil and sweet almond oil.


• Fragrance. Ideally, the fragrance comes from high-quality essential oils, like the spearmint and rosemary in the Origins Salt Rub. Budget body scrubs like St. Ives (Compare Prices) will have synthetic fragrances and more synthetic ingredients in general. 

The price of body scrubs is determined by the quality of the ingredients (high-quality and green vs. lower quality and synthetic), the brand identity (high-end or budget) and where it's sold (spa or specialty store vs. drug store.)
Body scrubs might also have skin-nourishing ingredients and chemical exfoliants like alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) to dissolve the intra-cellular "glue" that holds cells together. For instance, B. Kamins, Chemist Maple Sugar Body Scrub (Compare Prices) is a high-end scrub enriched with proprietary Bio-Maple Sugar, which has natural antioxidants and AHA acids. That can send the price even higher.

Getting Body Scrubs At The Spa
Body scrubs at the spa are more thorough and tend to leave your skin softer because the therapist works longer and gets into areas you can't reach easily, like the middle of your back. The therapist might use special equipment like a Vichy shower to rinse you off.
Body scrubs are the spa are usually combined with an application of lotion or short massage, which is relaxing. You can get a body scrub at the spa every once in a while, and maintain at home.